News

Sea Wave advocate Kellarissa unveiled a new track today along with details of her record release shows. Her hometown release show in Vancouver will be held at the Red Gate Revue Stage where she will share the stage with an incredible line up of Vancouver's best experimental pop artists including Devours, Mourning Coup and a special solo set from Hello, Blue Roses.

Larissa Loyva first became entangled with Mint Records in 2005 with p:ano, her project with Nicholas Krgovich. Since then, Loyva has had her hand in a boatload of projects including Fake Tears and The Choir Practice, and has served as a touring member of Destroyer and How To Dress Well. Loyva has also released two solo albums on Mint under the name Kellarissa, which is Finnish for “in the basement”. Now, Kellarissa returns with Ocean Electro, (momentarily eschewing the Finnish language) to propose a new genre which entangles femme psych electronica with driving synth pop. The album is dedicated to the planet’s mysterious forces, namely the ocean, in all its metaphorical and natural powers. 

Mint Records Presents:

Kellarissa - Ocean Electro Record Release Show!
https://kellarissa.bandcamp.com/album/ocean-electro-2

Devours
https://devours.bandcamp.com/

Hello, Blue Roses (solo)
https://helloblueroses.bandcamp.com/releases

Mourning Coup 
https://mourningcoupnosun.bandcamp.com/

$10 (+s/c) advance tickets available here:
https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3334948

Sponsored by:
Music BC 
Creative BC
Let's Hear It BC

Catch Kellarissa Live:

February 22 - Vancouver - The Fox Cabaret

March 22 - Vancouver - Red Gate Revue Stage (Record Release Show)

March 23 - Victoria - Copper Owl

March 24 - Nanaimo - The Vault

Mint Records is thrilled to be working with Vancouver cold-punk band Lié on a cassette re-issue of their vital and ferocious debut album Consent.

Consent is just as relevant now as it was when it was originally released in 2014. One of the best punk records to ever come out of Vancouver, it sounds more agitated and incensed than anything White Lung or The Dishrags ever spewed at their polite Canadian audience. Consent bites and snaps and scrapes and boils. The band whips 30 years of essential punk, noise and goth into a dizzying frenzy that reminds you about all the things you should still be angry about.

Lié is is celebrating the re-issue with a party at the Black Lab in Vancouver on Friday, February 23rd. More info about that over at Facebook.

This re-issue comes on a gold cassette housed in a cardboard slipcase and is limited to 300 copies. It also comes with a download code for when you wear the tape out. 

Edmonton's Faith Healer share the new video for & Waiting today via The Fader. & Waiting is taken from their acclaimed sophomore album Try;-). The duo are back on the road this March and April with dates across North America including an appearance at SXSW. Full tour details after the vid.

February 28 - Edmonton, AB - Rec Room
March 1 - Calgary, AB - Broken City
March 3 - Vancouver, BC - The Astoria
March 5 - Seattle, WA - Sunset Tavern
March 6 - Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge
March 7 - San Francisco, CA - The Chapel
March 9 - Los Angeles, CA - Bootleg Theatre
March 10 - San Diego - Soda Bar
March 12 - March 18 Austin, TX - SXSW
March 20 - New Orleans, LA - Poor Boys
March 21 - Raleigh, NC - Neptunes
March 23 - Washington, DC - American University
March 24 - Philadelphia, PA - The Soundhole
March 25 - New York, NY - Elsewhere 
April 5 - Hamilton, ON - Casbah
April 7 - Indianapolis, IN - Pioneers
April 8 - Cincinnati, OH - MOTR
April 10 - Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle
April 13 - Toronto, ON - Baby G
April 14 - Montreal, QC - Ritz PDB

Tough Age are kicking off 2018 with a batch of new tour dates down the West Coast of the US! Starting January 17th in Portland the band is hitting the road with upcoming stops in Los Angeles, Oakland, Portland, Seattle and more. Tough Age are also making one Canadian stop in Vancouver for a very special homecoming show at The Astoria!

In the two years since Tough Age’s sophomore LP, I Get The Feeling Central, the curmudgeonly comic book loving band have reinvented themselves. Founding members Jarrett Samson and Penny Clark relocated to Toronto from Vancouver, channelling their love of Flying Nun indie-pop into a new three-piece line-up with drummer Jesse Locke (Century Palm, Simply Saucer). The first glimpse at this new direction was their “Guess Not/Unclean” 7” EP, now followed by their long-awaited third album, Shame, which came out on Mint Records on October 20th, 2017. 

January 17 Portland - The Goo
January 18 Reno - Serva Pool Space at The Holland Project
January 24 Los Angeles - The Resident
January 26 Los Angeles - Top Space 2.0
January 27 Fullerton - Program Skate & Sound
January 28 San Diego - Soda Bar
January 29 Tempe - Sun Room
January 30 Las Vegas - Starboard Track
January 31 Oakland - Octopus Salon
February 2 Seattle - Victory Lounge
February 3 Vancouver - Astoria

Get a little peek into what we were listening to the Mint offices and tour vans in 2017! Listen to all this and more on our year end favourites playlist on Spotify

Woolworm

Giles’ faves from 2017:

10. Carla Del Forno - The Garden
9. Healer - Demo
8. Playboi Carti - Playboi Carti
7. Wares - Wares
6. Watchdog - 10 Track EP
5. Kelly Lee Owens - Kelly Lee Owens
4. Future - Hendrxx
3. Kelela - Take Me Apart
2. Trinity - Demo
1. Faith Healer - Try ;) ;) ;)

Supermoon

Supermoon's collective top 10 in no particular order:

Chastity Belt - I Used to Spend So Much Time Alone

Lt. Frank Dickens - Sour Bubblegum

Maneater - s/t

John Maus - Screen Memories

Lorde - Melodrama

Wares - s/t

Downtown Boys - Cost of Living

Sneaks - It's a Myth

Destroyer - Ken

Mob Bounce - I don't think they released a full album this year but they did participate in a lot of cool things including the Walking Together fest that we did with them, plus this New Constellations tour

Tough Age

Jarrett shares 15 records and 10 comics he liked in 2017:

Music of Inside the Snail’s Shell by Masahiro Takahashi

Teenager by Teenanger

Meditation Tape by Necking

Darlene Shrugg by Darlene Shrugg

This Trip by Petra Glynt

Raum by H. Takahashi

Soothsayer by Nick Ferrio

Crickets by Ora Cogan

Laughing at the System by Total Control

Courtneys II by The Courtneys

Watch out for the Bullies by Dad Jokes

Audible Songs from Rockwood by Fiver

A Stare Ajar by Whimm

City Sex Vol.1 by Mr. Merlot

Danke Freundlicher Zuhorer by Pankbend

Anti-Gone by Connor Willumsen

Sunday by O. Schrauwen

Helioscum2 by Juli Majer

Boundless by Jillian Tamaki

Leaving Richard’s Valley by Michael Deforge

Everywhere Disappeared by Patrick Kyle

I’m Not Here by GG

Delicious In Dungeon by Ryoko Kui

7050 by Masano Hirayama

Randy:

Mint's co-founder shares his favourite local bandcamp purchases from 2017:

Alimony - Demo
https://alimonyband.bandcamp.com/album/demo

Birthday Bitch - 26
https://birthdaybitch.bandcamp.com/album/26

Brutal Poodle - Long Time No See
https://brutalpoodlevan.bandcamp.com/album/long-time-no-see

Dad Thighs - The Ghosts I Fear
https://dadthighs.bandcamp.com/album/the-ghosts-that-i-fear

Maneater - Maneater
https://maneaterband.bandcamp.com/album/maneater

Necking - Meditation Tape
https://neckingband.bandcamp.com/album/meditation-tape

Only A Visitor - Lines
https://onlyavisitor.bandcamp.com/album/lines

Palm Oil - Palm Oil
https://palmoil.bandcamp.com/album/palm-oil

SBDC - Too Bad
https://sbdc.bandcamp.com/album/too-bad

Shrouded Amps - Come Along to Chocolate Church
https://shroudedamps.bandcamp.com/album/come-along-to-the-chocolate-church

The Trolls - Treasure Mountain EP
https://thatsthetrolls.bandcamp.com/album/treasure-mountain-ep

Uptights - Time + Space
https://uptights.bandcamp.com/album/time-space-2

Larissa Loyva has a long history with Mint beginning with the 2005 release from her project with Nik Krgovich, P:ano. Since then Loyva has had her hand in a boat load of projects including Fake Tears, The Choir Practice, How To Dress Well and has served as a touring member of Destroyer. Loyva is back in action as Kellarissa (which translates from Finnish to “in the basement”) for the release of her third album on Mint entitled Ocean Electro. The albums sweeping synths and ethereal vocals fit in with the spirit of fellow BC based new age/experimental pop artist such as White Poppy and Mourning Coup or synth pop revivalists like Molly Nilsson or Tropic of Cancer. The album was recorded in Vancouver, BC with Jay Arner and mastered by Josh Stevenson

Exclaim announced the album today and shared the debut single. “Ocean Electric” kicks off the album bursting with energy and adorned with icy synthesizers that sound straight out of a Berlin club playing obscure minimal wave singles.

Kellarissa will be performing as part of The Mint Records Ridiculously Early Xmas Party which is happening on December 2 at Vancouver's Astoria. You can get more details on the event here.

Tracklisting:

1. Ocean Electric
2. Black Sea
3. Too Drunk to Be Afraid
4. Ships in the Night
5. Mirabel
6. Poppies in July
7. Hey Hey Rosé
8. The Radio

Sometimes it seems like the only thing you can count on in life is the fact that Mint Records will always have a Xmas party and always have it ridiculously early! This year Mint is bringing it’s Ridiculously Early Xmas Party back to The Astoria in jolly old East Van. We’re bringing out all of your Mint faves this year, Woolworm, Needles//Pins, Jay Arner, Supermoon, Kellarissa plus Mint pals, Dumb. The bill is rounded out by Shitlord Fuckerman performing your favorite Xmas carols between bands. We hope you try to sing along… if it’s possible.

As usual Santa will be giving away gift bags jammed with goodies from Mint, Neptoon Records, Red Cat Records, Audiopile, Pocky and Lush to the first 50 people through the door. Also included in your stocking is a copy of a surprise Xmas flexi single that we will reveal closer to the date!

Proceeds from the party will go to support some of our favorite causes; Girls Rock Camp Vancouver, Good Night Out Vancouver, Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre and Vancouver Rabbit Rescue and Advocacy.

Tickets available at Red Cat Records and Neptoon Records as well as online at Brown Paper Tickets.

More info on Facebook!

Sponsored by CiTR 101.9FM and Discorder Magazine.

Poster art by Lisa Czech.

The Mint Records Ridiculously Early Xmas Party

Saturday, December 2nd

The Astoria (769 East Hastings St, Vancouver, BC)

Featuring:

Jay Arner

Supermoon

Needles//Pins

Woolworm

Kellarissa

Dumb

plus: Xmas carols by Shitlord Fuckerman

In the two years since Tough Age’s sophomore LP, I Get The Feeling Central, the curmudgeonly comic book loving band have reinvented themselves. Founding members Jarrett Samson and Penny Clark relocated to Toronto from Vancouver, channelling their love of Flying Nun indie-pop into a new three-piece line-up with drummer Jesse Locke (Century Palm, Simply Saucer). The first glimpse at this new direction was their “Guess Not/Unclean” 7” EP, now followed by their long-awaited third album, Shame, due out on Mint Records on October 20th, 2017.

Recorded and mixed by Freelove Fenner’s Peter Woodford in his Montreal studio The Bottle Garden (TOPS, Moss Lime), with cover art by comic artist Patrick Kyle and mastering by Mint’s own Jay Arner, Shame is Tough Age’s most collaborative effort to date. Honing their econo jams on tours across North America and over the sea to Tokyo, while sharing a stage with artists such as The Courtneys, HSY, and recent Mint signees Woolwoorm, the trio has re-emerged with a fresh set of songs that are simultaneously minimal, dynamically propulsive, and eerily experimental.

Shame’s first side is charged with fuzzy pop energy, from frenetic opener “Everyday Life” to the herky-jerky punctuations of “Piquant Frieze” to the sweetly rambling “Reflected.” On the b-side, Tough Age delve into their emotional honesty with the swooning “Pageantry” (“The biggest bummer of a song I’ve ever written, which is saying something” laughs Samson) and the powerfully contemplative title track, closing the album with extended surges of feedback.

Limiting overdubs while trying to record as much live in the studio as possible, plus paring an original set of 20 songs down to a sleek eight songs in 32 minutes, the most noticeable addition to Shame is Clark’s lead vocals on a pair of standout tunes. Switching to bass for Tough Age’s new line-up, “Ghost” is a heavier reworking of a song by her Vancouver punk band The Drearies, while “Me In Glue” finds Clark increasing in shouty intensity over chorus-drenched guitars.

“I don't like to complain or express frustration very much in everyday life because I want to trick people into thinking I am a very calm person,” says Clark. “But there are lots of things that bother me and I think about them a lot so I try to put all those feelings into my songs and then I have an excuse to yell about things. Maybe you've also felt things like that and we can feel them together.”

While the prominent placement of a Tough Age poster above Archie Andrews’ bed in the TV series Riverdale was a hilarious thrill for the band, their musical tastes dig much deeper. On Shame, the influence of New Zealand acts continues to loom large with Tough Age’s tribute to The Clean on the slyly titled “Unclean.” Less obvious inspirations include early ’80s London, ON group The Hippies, the off-kilter drumming of U.S. Maple, and the austere lyricism of The Urinals’ “punk haikus.”

Following the album's release, Samson says Tough Age plan to "keep playing music, keep putting out music, tour, have fun, not get on each other’s nerves too much, and refuse to compromise our intentions."

It's been a year since Heaven For Real dropped Kill Your Memory on Mint Records but the band is far from done with it!

Today the band announced a string of tour dates in Canada and Japan via Exclaim! The Canadian dates include stops in Toronto, Montreal and the always lovely Sappy Fest. Later in August the band is going on tour in Japan where Kill Your Memory was released by Dead Funny Records last year. 

To celebrate we're offering 10% off your copy of Kill Your Memory until the band returns from tour when you use the promo code 'comehome'.

HEAVEN FOR REAL ON TOUR:

AUGUST 6TH / SACKVILLE, NB / SAPPYFEST

AUGUST 9TH / MONTREAL, QC / POISSON NOIR

AUGUST 10TH / OTTAWA, ON / AVANT GUARDE BAR

AUGUST 12TH / GUELPH, ON / TAKE TIME VINTAGE

AUGUST 13TH / TORONTO, ON / BURDOCK

Japan:

AUGUST 23TH / SHIBUYA, TOKYO  / TSUTAYA O-NEST W/ CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY YEAH

AUGUST 25TH / KOCHI, JAPAN / CHAOTIC NOISE

AUGUST 26TH /  FUKUOKA, JAPAN  / GIGI

AUGUST 27TH / TOKYO, JAPAN / STUDIO SHIMOKITAZAWAWA BAYD

AUGUST 28TH / OSAKA, JAPAN / HARD RAIN

AUGUST 29TH / MATSUMOTO, JAPAN / GIVE ME LITTLE MORE

AUGUST 30TH /  NAGOYA, JAPAN / K.D JAPON

TICKETS HERE

Mint is very happy to be able to announce that we're going be releasing a new album from Edmonton's Faith Healer! Try ;-) (Yes, the emoticon is part of the title) is due out September 8, 2017. The follow-up to 2015’s Cosmic Troubles was largely recording during an intensive month-long session in September 2016 at Wilson’s personal studio in Montreal. During the process, Jalbert rented a room in Wilson’s house and the pair spent hours jamming and listening to bargain bin rock records in the basement.

“The last album had a lot of flowery ‘60s flourishes,” Jalbert explains. “This time, we wanted to simplify it and just do some straight-ahead songs. Focus on the song itself rather than all of the production.” The pop-rock arrangements are still overflowing with beautiful sonic details—from the Twin Peaks synths that enshroud “Sterling Silver” to the funky clavinet that’s nestled within the paisley-patterned pop of “& Waiting—but the instrumentation is stripped down enough that it can be faithfully recreated by a live band. Jalbert and Wilson were inspired by the garage-punk snarl of Wipers, the deadpan drama of Leonard Cohen’s Death of a Ladies’ Man, and the classic songwriting chops of Scott Walker and Elvis Costello.

The relatively stripped-down arrangements, combined with Jalbert’s graceful hooks and pitch-perfect delivery, make Try ;-) sound effortless. The truth, however, is that its creation was anything but simple: the songs were meticulously crafted with great effort, with plainspoken lyrics that thoughtfully reflect on self-empowerment, depression and appreciating the good in life.

Balancing melancholy lyrics with playful moods, lush melodies with straightforward arrangements, Try ;-) is the sound of an introspective loner leaving her bedroom to make a rock record with her best bud. It’s what happens when you stop taking life as it comes and instead throw all of your effort into making timeless pop songs. Forget what the bullies told you in middle school—there’s nothing cooler than trying hard.

Vinyl pre-orders of Try ;-) will come on blue vinyl (while supplies last) and deluxe gatefold packaging.